Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureBritish Crown rule

Madras and Bombay linked by rail at Raichur

· Raichur

Madras and Bombay linked by rail at Raichur
James Mudd (1821 - 1906), Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At Raichur the Madras Railway met the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, opening a through rail route from Madras to Bombay.

The Madras Railway pushed its line north-west as far as Raichur in 1871. At that point it met a Great Indian Peninsula Railway extension coming from Kalyan, so that Madras and Bombay were linked by rail for the first time. The connection bound the Madras Presidency more tightly to western India and its port. Madras had to wait until 1899 for a direct line to Calcutta, which came via the Vijayawada link.

Related events

  1. 1862

    1. 1862BeyporeInfrastructure

      Madras Railway reaches the west coast at Beypore

      The Madras Railway completed its line to Beypore, linking Madras by rail with the west coast; a branch to Bangalore followed in 1864.

  2. 1869

    1. 1869ChennaiInfrastructure

      Carnatic Railway Company founded

      Founded in 1869, the Carnatic Railway Company combined with the Great Southern of India Railway in 1874 to create the South Indian Railway.

    2. 1869Napier BridgeInfrastructure

      Napier Bridge built over the Cooum

      Planned by Governor Lord Napier, a cast iron lattice bridge went up over the Cooum's mouth, joining Fort St. George to the Marina side.

  3. 1873

    1. 1873Chennai CentralInfrastructure

      Madras Central railway station built

      Designed by George Harding and later altered by Robert Chisholm, Madras Central station was put up by the Madras Railway as its terminus in the city.

  4. 1874

    1. 1874TiruchirappalliInfrastructure

      South Indian Railway Company formed

      In 1874 the Great Southern of India Railway merged with the Carnatic Railway to create the South Indian Railway Company, later based at Trichinopoly.

  5. 1877

    1. 1877 to 1878Buckingham CanalInfrastructure

      Buckingham Canal extended as famine relief

      A section of the coastal canal linking the Adyar and Cooum rivers was dug as famine relief work, and the canal was renamed the Buckingham Canal.

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